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Author /Tyler Sonnichsen

Posts by Tyler Sonnichsen

Writer, Comedian, Traveler, Archivist, Journalist... I would love to be able to make enough money to live off of one of these things. For now, I do it all but remain poor yet humble. I enjoy wandering, mainly.
www.tdcpresents.com

During The Coupâ€™s explosive full band performance at the Operation: Cease Fire rally at the Washington Monument last September, a awkward moment of nonverbal discord passed between Ray â€œBootsâ€ Riley and his resident hype man. Halfway through their set, the hype man grabbed a â€œBush Must Go!â€ picket sign from the front row and hoisted it in the air. Bootsâ€™ rock-solid demeanor, for a brief moment, turned into one of marked disappointment. It appeared that Boots, like many other patriotic dissenters, had grown tired with anti-Bush rhetoric as it has been driven into the ground since the man waltzed into office. When The Coup made waves with their last album Party Music in 2001, 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Patriot Act, the Christian Taliban, the actual Taliban, Duct Tape, domestic spying, etc. were all looming under or out of our nation-stateâ€™s subconscious. Continue reading →

No better way to mark the beginning of Spring than the stateside release of Sondre Lercheâ€™s new album â€œDuper Sessions,â€ featuring the Faces Down Quartet. The man has already generated at least two albumsâ€™ worth of sunny, romantic, elegant pop that simply brim with class and sophistication well beyond his twenty-three years. In fact, the level of sophistication that Lerche reaches on â€œDuper Sessionsâ€ nearly immortalizes him as one of pop musicâ€™s great anomalies.

He was only 18 when he recorded most of what would become his stellar debut album â€œFaces Down.â€ Following its stateside release in the fall of 2002, legions of critics, who had little else to pick the young Norwegian apart for, repeatedly cited the inevitable obstacles he faced writing lyrics in his second language, yet still lavished him with well-deserved comparisons to Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello. I found it impossible to hold the language barrier against him. He still wrote better songs than a majority of Americans who got any attention from the mainstream press that year, which is sad in a way. Few artists anywhere near the realm of popular music have drawn such heady comparisons to artists two to three times their age in this context. Was Lerche trying so hard to emulate those soul-infected, bossa nova stylings and appear well beyond his years, or simply aiming to separate himself from a slew of other â€œsensitiveâ€ Euro-indie acts? Truthfully, for myself and many others who had the good fortune to discover the man early on, the songs on â€œFaces Downâ€ and its follow-up â€œTwo-Way Monologueâ€ were too damn irresistible to worry about his intentions.

For a subject with as interesting a history as Dischord Records, the documentary â€œAn Impression: Dischord Recordsâ€ (Produced by Leena Jayaswol & Kylos Brannon and featured in this yearâ€™s DC Independent Film Festival) crams a fairly concise portrait into a slender fifteen minutes. For the uninitiated, this doc is a great stepping-stone with which to approach the history of one of the most storied, notorious, and organically run record labels in the world. For anyone who owns more than one Fugazi record or who knows who Ian Svenonius is, â€œImpressionâ€ is a superficial review. Despite an attractive opening sequence, juxtaposing gritty DC scenery with flyer and album art from the labelâ€™s early days, nothing leaps out visually. The short filmâ€™s key strengths are in the content, which brings a steady barrage of eye and ear candy for any DC punk aficionado. Continue reading →

Nayan Bhula in the front room of his store, Revolution Records– photo by Tyler Sonnichsen

Van Ness-UDC is a bizarre Metro stop. Thousands of people pass in and out of it every day; the apartments in the neighborhood are among the most popular housing for young professionals in the district, and the cityï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s only public university hosts thousands of commuter students daily. Other than that, Van Ness offers no tourist attractions or utilities that one couldnï¿½ï¿½ï¿½t get elsewhere. So, as Nayan Bhula and Fred Burton faced all of these questions upon opening Revolution Records, the good incentives won out.

ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½The biggest [positives] for us were the availability of this second-floor space, and the price,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ said Bhula. While still far from a steal, the property value would be much easier to maintain than that in more of a cultural hotspot like Dupont Circle or U Street. Regardless, Bhula and the Revolution staff of six have taken advantage of what they do have. The storeï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s 10% discount for anyone carrying a college ID, for example, has meshed well with the UDC commuters.

Despite the inevitable trials and tribulations that any independent music store faces, especially in a town like DC, Revolution has grown considerably in customer base and presence within the local music scene.

Bhula and Burton play together in local indie-rock trio Gist. On the legs of their latest album ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Diesel City,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ released under their own production company Red Stapler Records, the duo, along with bassist Finley Martin, have taken on the challenge of balancing their touring and promotion with running and maintaining the store. Continue reading →

Britpop was one of the most bizarre cultural phenomena to occur in most of our lifetimes. It attacked, circa 1993, with a massive wave of bands that issued a cluster of trademark albums and subsequently conquered the UK, and in select Gallagher-related cases, the US charts as well. However, certain bands, like Supergrass, releasing their sensational debut ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½I Should Cocoï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ in 1995, caught the tail end, and so they found themselves clumped together with a movement that their frantic energy and sense of humor simply transcended. Most pointedly, theyï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ve survived a number of ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½wavesï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ of British music, gained critical praise consistently through five albums, and most relevantly, amassed and maintained a dedicated audience over here. This Sunday night, theyï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ll be playing to the longtime faithful and newcomers alike in a much-anticipated show at the 9:30 Club.

Indeed, Gaz Coombes and the boys, despite being dubiously hailed as ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½everyoneï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s second-favorite bandï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ and ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½the worldï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s ugliest band,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ have been producing consistently vibrant and altogether unique British Rock music for more than ten years now. Some thought they were throwing in the towel with last yearï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s Supergrass is 10: The Best of 1994-2004 compilation. But, like the ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Grass has done so consistently, they threw in a hook (well, tons of hooks, in a different sense) last year with the intricate, expansive Road to Rouen. Of course theyï¿½ï¿½ï¿½re not throwing in the towel anytime soon. Theyï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ve been around for more than ten years now, but Gaz Coombes still has yet to even turn 30.

According to accounts of their Road to Rouen tour thus far, the quartetï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s been mixing in a healthy blast of punchy old numbers like ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Sitting up Straightï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ and ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Sun Hits the Skyï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ with plenty of the newer gems like ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½St. Petersburgï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ and ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Grace.ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ Few know exactly which surprises the hirsute Oxford lads will be pulling out on Sunday night, but finding out will only be a fraction of the fun.

Considering Supergrassï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ long-standing underlying fascination with both psychedelic and American Roots Music, Texarkana ambient avant-pop outfit Pilotdrift will be opening. Their website will completely blow your mind, if their music doesnï¿½ï¿½ï¿½t already.

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Supergarass is playing the 9:30 Club this Sunday, February 12th. Doors are at 10 PM.

Daly, the owner and operator of Crooked Beat for the past year and a half, has plenty of great stories to tell about his stores and his own experience as a music collector and fan, and his own surprises keep on coming. As it turns out, and Rollins was one of the first of many to point out to him, his building was once the original punk haven Madam‚Äôs Organ.

‚ÄúA lot of [DC hardcore] legends had their first shows upstairs,‚Äù said Daly, ‚ÄúBad Brains was even like the house band—they played every Monday night.‚Äù

Consistent with most venues that hosted punk bands (and invited them back, subsequently), the building itself was never in top shape, and the lower level, where the shop is located, is now an exhibition of maintenance problems. Between a few floods, one of which occurred last summer, measured approximately four inches deep, and cracked the paint job on the floor, as well as constant hydraulic seepage from Maggie Moo‚Äôs Ice Cream parlor next door, it‚Äôs a miracle that minimal amounts of their merchandise have been destroyed; even more so because their indie selection and specialization ranks among the finest in record stores in the East Coast. Continue reading →

Upon Sketches singer Charlie Bernardoï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s first mention of local rock station DC101, something strange occurred to me. DC music has rarely been regarded on a national level as at all mainstream. The league of Georgetown punks of the early 80ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s, the emo progenitors of the late 80ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s, and rhythmic bitch-slaps like The Dismemberment Plan and Q and Not U have all well represented the DC areaï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s musical spirit and image through the end of the century. But we have to accept the fact that The Plan and Q are through (despite successful shows by Travis Morrison and Chris Richardsï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ respective new outfits in the past few weeks), and Fugazi has been on hiatus since 2001ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s excellent The Argument.

But as I fell headfirst into the straightforward music of quartets The Sketches, Monopoli, and Army of Me, I realized how this show was a veritable showcase of the three bands vying to be DCï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s next breakout. Considering how most of the areaï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s best-known bands are off the national hipster radar at the moment (Thievery Corp, and Medications notwithstanding), it would be strange but refreshing having Army of Me as the face of the District.

Monopoli

Despite not being the ruthless musical innovators that Fugazi and the D-Plan were, The Sketches, Monopoli, and Army of Me still have plenty to offer. All three bands have had some exposure on the ClearChannel pawn DC101, which speaks volumes of both their hard work and their radio-accessible sounds. In fact, Army of Meï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s dark, hooky single ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Come Down to DCï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ has been added to 101ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s core play list, a major accomplishment for a band not backed by a major label.

The Sketches kicked off the show with magnificent harmonies and generally solid songwriting from brothers Tony and Charlie Bernardo. Most of their set, including highlights like ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Fly Baby, Right Now,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ maintained a mid-tempo flow until they sped up within their last few songs, concluding with a faithful, beautifully done medley of ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Bohemian Rhapsodyï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ with other 70ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s staples. Continue reading →

Being a true ska fan takes dedication. Having to countenance declarations that ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½no one likes ska anymoreï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ and ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½it was a fadï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ in the pages of glossy, mainstream music magazines gets aggravating after you read them a thousand times. True, the scene and the art form took a hit ca. 2000 after MTV realized that they could make more money with boy bands, and when Moon Ska Records (the issuers of the Pietasterï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s breakthrough Oolooloo) closed up shop, but the best bands survived the fall, emerging stronger and smarter. Two of them, NYCï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s trad-ska powerhouse The Slackers and DCï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s own indefinable The Pietasters, performed to a packed, bouncing house at the 9:30 Club on Saturday night.

The bandï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s respective sets perfectly displayed why they are both such strong outfits. Singer/keyboardist Vic Ruggiero, the consummate New Yawkah, made it a point to establish a good ground with the DC crowd right off the bat, with the political ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Propaganda.ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ He soon got off it, though, since he realized halfway into their first song that heï¿½ï¿½ï¿½d be preaching to the choir anyway. The Slackers played an hour-long set that only for brief moments lost its luster. Prodigious saxophonist Dave Hillyard, and bombastic trombone player Glen Pine, who has assumed elevated vocal duties, for better or for worse, added a dramatic flair to Ruggieroï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s outstanding pieces of songwriting. Considering how much energy The Slackers emanated through the likes of ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½The Nurse,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Iï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ll Stay Away,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ a notably an uproarious rocksteady version of the Jewish traditional ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½Dreidel Song,ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ their new rotation seems to be heading in the right direction. Continue reading →